Rhaenys

Biodata

Background / History

Rhaenys is the daughter of Prince Aemon Targaryen and the wife of Lord Corlys Velaryon. Her inheritance was passed over in favor of Baelon Targaryen because she was a woman, a grievance she openly raises when Corlys challenges Daemon Blackfyre’s claimed descent from Aemon 6. Her mother is Jocelyn Baratheon. Aemon’s death and Jaehaerys’s decision to name Baelon his heir occurred in the ninety-second year of the Conquest calendar, leaving a lasting rift between Rhaenys’s household and the royal court 122 220.

While riding her dragon Meleys near Dragonstone, Rhaenys finds Daemon Blackfyre feverish and unconscious among seaside rocks, then later rescues him from the sea. His silver hair, violet eyes, knowledge of High Valyrian, and black three-headed dragon brand remind her strongly of her father 3. She brings him to Dragonstone and declares him Aemon’s bastard son and her brother, placing herself between him and Baelon’s scrutiny 4 5.

Corlys distrusts Daemon and argues that his dragon brand was forged, but Rhaenys repeatedly defends him. She regards Meleys’s acceptance of him, his apparent bloodline, and his connection to dragons as proof that he is family 6 10. After Glutton chooses Daemon as its rider, she supports Baelon’s decision to keep him on Dragonstone rather than surrender him to the King’s justice 10.

Rhaenys later welcomes Daemon after the Stepstones campaign, introduces him to Laena and Laenor as their uncle, and rejoices when he is taken to King’s Landing to meet Jaehaerys 12. She accompanies the returning party to the capital, where Daemon’s acceptance helps ease the estrangement between her family and the royal household 13. She remains a consistent source of support following his legitimization, promising that he can seek her help at High Tide whenever needed 20.

During visits to Runestone and High Tide, Rhaenys teases Daemon about marriage while warning him not to repeat Daemon Targaryen’s unhappy union with Rhea Royce. She jokingly proposes a future match with her daughter Laena, unaware that the suggestion visibly upsets Gael 27. By Daemon’s later visit to Tidehead Island, she remains warmly protective of him despite Corlys’s continued preoccupation with commerce and construction 41.

Rhaenys tells Boremund Baratheon the account of Daemon’s supposed childhood, including Aemon’s death, his mother’s subsequent death from illness, and his years of isolation and lost memories. Boremund later uses this account when explaining Jocelyn’s wish to be accepted as Daemon’s mother 117. Rhaenys subsequently returns to King’s Landing on Meleys with Laena and Laenor and shares an emotional reunion with Jocelyn 126. At the family dinner welcoming her household, she objects to the burdens and dangers of Daemon’s appointment as Minister of Intelligence, reminding him that he is still a child 127.

During the celebrations of Jaehaerys’s fifty-year reign, Rhaenys rides Meleys with her children in the royal dragon display 137. She later participates in the Joint Fleet’s training in Blackwater Bay and promises to defend Dragonstone when the expedition departs for the Stepstones 156 160. By the preparations for the assault on Tyrosh, she has joined the expedition at Bloodstone and flies Meleys in the dragon formation accompanying the allied fleet 175.

Rhaenys welcomes and blesses Daemon and Gael at their betrothal celebrations, then attends their Valyrian wedding on Dragonstone. Seeing Daemon marry recalls her own wedding, which Aemon had attended, and moves her to tears 189 191. She remains closely involved in the royal household afterward, supporting her mother during Aemma’s dangerous labor and joining the family farewells when Corlys leaves for the Stepstones and Daemon returns to Dragon’s Roost Port 204 206.

Daemon later reflects that his arrival has temporarily eased the dispute over Rhaenys’s and her children’s inheritance. Her family’s renewed closeness with the Red Keep has preserved her dignity without requiring her to continue fighting over the succession 220. When Daemon returns from his overseas travels before the Iron Islands campaign, she warmly embraces him, and her household receives goldenheart toys and jeweled ornaments among his gifts 245.

Appearance

Rhaenys is initially described with black hair and pale violet eyes, visibly marking her Valyrian heritage. In later years, the fine lines around her eyes are described as deepening the intensity of her gaze 3 41. A later account of her arrival in King’s Landing instead describes her hair as silver 126.

• Often wears House Velaryon sea-green or sea-blue clothing bearing the Targaryen three-headed dragon sigil 27 41.
• Is associated with dragonbreath flowers, including flowers worn in her hair and embroidered on her skirts 10 12.
• Is described as beautiful, with a forceful presence that becomes especially pronounced when defending her family 3 5.
• Wears black-and-red riding clothes when arriving at King’s Landing and participating in the anniversary tourney’s dragon display 126 137.
• Wears a close-fitting black outfit suited to movement during the Joint Fleet’s drills, with a Valyrian steel dagger at her waist 156.
• Her sea-blue gown at Daemon’s later homecoming displays both the Targaryen three-headed dragon and the Velaryon seahorse 245.

Personality

Rhaenys is fiercely protective, decisive, and unwilling to yield when she believes someone is being treated unjustly. She publicly defies Baelon and Corlys to defend Daemon’s place in the family, treating his alleged descent from Aemon as a matter of personal as well as dynastic importance 4 5 6.

She is proud of female Targaryens and rejects the idea that sex weakens a dragonlord’s claim or capability. When Jaehaerys reacts with disappointment to Rhaenyra’s birth, Rhaenys answers that the dragons of Valyria “have never been crippled by their sex” 17.

Her strong will also shapes her marriage. She resents Corlys for prioritizing political and commercial ambitions over her and their children, though she still takes pride in the prosperity he has created on Tidehead Island 6 12 41. Around Daemon and her children, she is affectionate, teasing, and openly warm 12 20 41 42 43.

Her protectiveness does not diminish as Daemon gains titles and responsibilities. She worries that his intelligence work asks too much of someone his age, softening only after he explains that he wishes to protect the family 127. Corlys recognizes that she treats Daemon not merely as an acknowledged half-brother, but with the closeness of a full brother or even an eldest son; his happiness at his wedding therefore gives her particular joy 191.

Rhaenys also understands the dangers of childbirth from personal experience. During Aemma’s difficult labor, she attempts to reassure Jocelyn while privately remembering the danger she herself faced when giving birth to Laena 204.

Abilities & Skills

Dragonriding

Rhaenys is the rider of Meleys, the scarlet “Red Queen.” She handles Meleys confidently in dangerous conditions and uses the dragon to reach and rescue Daemon from the sea 3.

• Lands Meleys in a secluded, guarded Dragonstone courtyard to avoid attracting attention 4.
• Her bond with Meleys is strong enough for the dragon to react to her distress and show unusual tolerance toward Daemon 3.
• She considers herself and Meleys capable combatants and wishes to have joined the Stepstones campaign 12.
• Compares Gael’s taming of Dreamfyre to her own more difficult experience taming Meleys 42.
• Carries both Laena and Laenor behind her on Meleys during family travel and the royal dragon display 126 137.
• Patrols the eastern training area in Blackwater Bay and tests Meleys’s dragonfire against distant reefs after intelligence reveals the increased range of Triarchy ballistae 156.
• Participates in a coordinated mock naval attack with the other dragonriders and the Joint Fleet’s ships, infantry, and archers 156.
• Joins the dragon formation flying from Bloodstone toward Tyrosh during the allied offensive 175.

Political Resolve

Rhaenys is willing to confront powerful relatives and nobles directly, particularly when bloodline, succession, or her family’s safety is at stake.

• Asserts Daemon’s right to recognition before Baelon, citing his appearance, dragon mark, High Valyrian, and Meleys’s acceptance 4 5.
• Challenges Corlys’s suspicion of Daemon and condemns the idea of protecting her children’s inheritance through violence against an innocent boy 10.
• Defends the strength of female Targaryens following Rhaenyra’s birth 17.
• Objects to Daemon’s appointment as Minister of Intelligence because of his youth and the demands of the office 127.
• Pledges to defend Dragonstone while Baelon and the two Daemons depart with the Joint Fleet 160.

Needlework

Rhaenys embroiders the dragon-sigil pouch she gives Daemon before departing King’s Landing, pairing the handmade gift with a promise to come to his aid on Meleys 20.

Power Progression

Equipment / Mounts

• Meleys — Scarlet dragon known as the Red Queen; Rhaenys’s mount and closest source of military power 3 4.
• Dragon-sigil pouch — A cloth pouch embroidered by Rhaenys, given to Daemon so that he can write for her help if he is threatened 20.
• Valyrian steel dagger — Worn at her waist during the Joint Fleet’s Blackwater Bay drills; no name or use in combat is specified 156.

Relationships

• Prince Aemon Targaryen — Father; Daemon’s resemblance to Aemon drives Rhaenys’s belief that he is her father’s surviving bastard son 3 4 5. At Daemon’s wedding, she remembers Aemon attending her own marriage to Corlys 191.
• Jocelyn Baratheon — Mother; they embrace emotionally when Rhaenys returns to King’s Landing with her children 126. Rhaenys attempts to reassure her during Aemma’s dangerous labor 204.
• Corlys Velaryon — Husband; their relationship is strained by Corlys’s suspicion of Daemon and his repeated prioritization of business and voyages over family 6 12 27 41 42 43. Their marriage also retains tenderness: during Daemon’s wedding, Corlys takes her hand and offers her a handkerchief as she cries 191.
• Laena Velaryon — Daughter; Rhaenys describes her as brave, dragon-minded, and similar to herself 12. She encourages Laena to wait until she is older before riding a dragon and carries her as a passenger on Meleys 42 126 137.
• Laenor Velaryon — Son; a quieter child who draws dragons and collects shells 12. He accompanies Rhaenys and Laena on Meleys during visits and celebrations 126 137.
• Daemon Blackfyre Targaryen — Acknowledged brother; she rescues, shelters, and persistently protects him, treating him as Aemon’s son regardless of questions surrounding his origin 3 4 5 6 10 20. Her affection remains almost maternal as she worries over his intelligence duties and rejoices at his marriage 127 191.
• Baelon Targaryen — Uncle; their relationship becomes tense when Rhaenys challenges his authority over Daemon’s fate, though he ultimately accepts Daemon into the family 4 5 6 12.
• Gael Targaryen — Aunt and later acknowledged sister-in-law; Rhaenys teases Gael over her closeness with Daemon and recognizes her achievement in claiming Dreamfyre 41 42 43. She later joins the family in celebrating their betrothal and marriage 189 191.
• Rhaenyra Targaryen — Daughter of her cousin Viserys; Rhaenys warmly welcomes her birth and publicly defends the strength of female Targaryens 17. She later affectionately comments on the child’s unusually strong attachment to Daemon Blackfyre 126.
• Daemon Targaryen — Cousin; chooses Rhaenys as his Queen of Love and Beauty during the earlier King’s Landing tourney 18. She often treats his conduct as a cautionary example for Daemon Blackfyre, but later expresses surprise and approval when she sees him carefully tending to Laenor 27 42 205.
• Jaehaerys I Targaryen — Grandfather; his decision to pass her over for Baelon creates a lasting succession grievance, but Daemon Blackfyre’s arrival helps restore familial warmth between her household and the royal court 13 220.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rescue and Recognition of Daemon

Rhaenys’s rescue of Daemon from the sea begins his entry into the Targaryen family. Her recognition of Aemon’s features in him and her refusal to abandon him set the conflict over his lineage and status in motion 3 4 5 6.

Dragonstone Succession Dispute

She opposes Corlys’s efforts to isolate Daemon from dragons and frames his treatment as another attempt to deny Aemon’s bloodline for the sake of succession. Her intervention helps secure Daemon’s continued residence on Dragonstone after Glutton claims him 6 10.

Family at High Tide

As Daemon becomes accepted by the royal family, Rhaenys integrates him into her own household, introducing him to Laena and Laenor and maintaining High Tide as a refuge he may return to 12 20 41.

Her care extends beyond hospitality. She shares his supposed history with Boremund, contributing to the wider family’s understanding of his circumstances, and later worries openly about the responsibilities placed upon him at court 117 127.

Velaryon Marriage Tensions

Rhaenys’s bluntness and Corlys’s evasiveness expose the growing strain in their marriage. Even while proud of Tidehead Island’s prosperity, she resents being neglected for Corlys’s commercial pursuits 41 42 43.

Later scenes also show continuing affection between them. Corlys comforts her during Daemon’s wedding, and she grips his arm while the family gathers during Aemma’s dangerous labor 191 204.

Return to the Royal Household

Daemon’s recognition helps bridge the rift caused by Rhaenys’s exclusion from the succession. Her return to King’s Landing reunites her with Jocelyn and places her children among the wider royal family 13 126.

By Daemon’s later assessment, this reconciliation has temporarily relieved the pressure to contest her own and her children’s inheritance. The bond between Tidehead Island and the Red Keep has strengthened, and Rhaenys’s dignity has been preserved without resolving the underlying succession question definitively 220.

Joint Fleet and Tyrosh Campaign

Rhaenys moves from expressing frustration at being excluded from the earlier Stepstones campaign to participating in the Joint Fleet’s preparations. She practices dragonfire range and coordinated naval tactics on Meleys, then pledges to defend Dragonstone at the expedition’s departure 12 156 160.

She later joins the allied force at Bloodstone and flies toward Tyrosh with the other dragons as the fleet prepares to counter the Archon’s wildfire defenses 175.

Daemon and Gael’s Marriage

Rhaenys’s early teasing about Daemon’s marriage prospects gives way to recognition of his attachment to Gael 27 42. She offers gifts and blessings at their betrothal and helps with the family preparations for their wedding on Dragonstone, bringing a shawl woven by Laena 189 191.

During the ceremony, memories of Aemon and her own wedding mingle with her happiness for Daemon. Her tears and Corlys’s understanding of her nearly maternal attachment emphasize how central his acceptance has become to her family life 191.

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